Fresh from their inspiring draw against Valencia at the weekend, Real Betis are welcoming Deportivo La Coruna on Thursday night hoping to bag their second win of the season, while their opponents are looking to make amends for the home loss to Sporting Gijon.

Problems up front

Los Beticos have lost only one game in the new campaign and their return to La Liga has been satisfying so far. One win, two draws and a single defeat after four rounds of domestic championship have put Real Betis on the 12th place in the standings. Left with ten men on the pitch, Pepe Mel’s troops have drawn Valencia last time out and will be looking to catch the momentum against Deportivo La Coruna on Thursday night at their home ground of Estadio Benito Villamarin. The Andalusians have not been particularly efficient so far, having netted two goals in their first four games in La Liga. What is more, there have been under 2.5 goals in eight of their last 10 games in domestic championship.

Pepe Mel will be without the help of Dani Caballos who is unavailable after picking up two bookings last time out. On the other hand, Pedro will be hoping to return to the starting XI after ban of his own. Didier Digard and Christiano Piccini are out with injuries, while there is some minor doubt over the availability of Juan Vargas and Francisco Portillo who could still play a part in the upcoming fixture.

Decent record against Real Betis

Having suffered their first defeat in the season to Gijon last weekend, Deportivo La Coruna will be hoping to make a swift response when they come to face the newly promoted Real Betis. Level on points with their Thursday’s rivals, Deportivo will be looking to earn three important points that will be sure to push them up the table from their current 10th place. Victor Sanchez’s team have recorded a 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on their last trip away from Riazor and will surely be looking to stay unbeaten this time around as well. The numbers speak for themselves as Deportivo are unbeaten in nine of their last ten away games against Real Betis in all competitions. There will be little hope of bagging all three points this time out, and it is worth mentioning that Deportivo have failed to win in 18 of their last 20 games in La Liga.

With no missing players in his squad, Sanchez will have both Manuel Pablo and Cani back in contention as no major changes are expected in the starting line-up. Last week’s scorers Juanfran and Luis Alberto will most likely keep their berths in the team.

Verdict

With goal difference being the only thing that separates the two sides early in the season, the upcoming fixture is pretty hard to predict. Betis will be looking to exploit their home ground advantage and we could see a low scoring home win.

Top pick: Home win   2.20 (6/5) @ bet365

Alternative pick 1: Half-time draw   2.10 (11/10) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 2: Under 2.5 goals   1.75 (3/4) @ Sportingbet